hay feeding

[bigbull338]

ok its that time of year.we have been tracking how much hay the cows eat weekly.right now they are eating 1.2 to 1.3 5 by 6 bales a day for 8 or 9 bales a week.thats for 100hd more or less.cows heifers and few big calves yet tobe sold.the big calves will probly be sold in 2wks.

 

[Bigfoot]

I'm feeding 20 rolls, on weeks the sun shines, and 23 or 24 during cloudy weeks. If spring comes on time, I may have enough.

 

[bigbull338]

bigfoot feeding that much im assuming your feeding 4 by 5s or 4 by 6s.

 

[herofan]

I have 17 cows and 5 calves. I've fed 17, 5x5 rolls so far.

 

[etmountianman71]

We feed about 2-3 round bales (4x4.5) a week for 15 head. Might seem much but they eat it and it makes my dad happy to keep them healthy and easy to find.

 

[Tim/South]

We feed 4 rolls per day.
Feed 1,000 lb of brewers grain per day.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I'm feeding 20 rolls, on weeks the sun shines, and 23 or 24 during cloudy weeks. If spring comes on time, I may have enough.

Why would you assume that maybe he has more cows than you
Also just because a bale is a 5x5 or 5x6 doesnt mean it will weigh more than a 4x5
I have seen plenty of 5x6 bales that dont weigh anything

 

[herofan]

We feed about 2-3 round bales (4x4.5) a week for 15 head. Might seem much but they eat it and it makes my dad happy to keep them healthy and easy to find.

That doesn't seem like a lot to me. What are your winters like? Do they still have good grazing, and do you give other feed as well? I'm just curious since my herd is about the size of yours.

 

[Toad]

Averaging about 12 4x5's a week right now but I still have some fairly decent grazing as well. Rough calculations show me having enough until mid to late March although its hard to guess. How much more will they be eating when the grazing is gone and how much will it save me when I sell off the big calves in February? I'm thinking I'm going to have to buy some hay to be sure.

 

[Nesikep]

23 cows, 3 with calves at side, one weaned bull calf, 4 replacement bred heifers, 1 steer, and 1 bull are eating about 10-14 60-70 lb square bales of alfalfa. So about 600-800 lbs a day, depending on the weather.

My 3 heifer calves and 1 steer calf are eating about 20 lbs of nice fine hay a day each... they're growing well on it too.

 

[blacksnake]

Most of these replies may make sense to the person who is replying but not much to any one else. To really make any sense one would need to know number of cows, cow size, hay quality, weight of bales, condition of the cows-whether nursing, dry, bred or whatever. Any pasture still available, any supplementation and other factors. Hope some novice doesn't take info on here as the sole advice.

 

[jedstivers]

Most of these replies may make sense to the person who is replying but not much to any one else. To really make any sense one would need to know number of cows, cow size, hay quality, weight of bales, condition of the cows-whether nursing, dry, bred or whatever. Any pasture still available, any supplementation and other factors. Hope some novice doesn't take info on here as the sole advice.

And there in lies a lot of the problem with the cattle industry. " Well hay is hay and my cows are the same size as his and it can't be that much different just a few miles north" (150 and 1,000 feet elevation or more) ect.

 

[skyhightree1]

I have been feeding 10 pr week so far and from my calculations I have enough to last till probably November.

 

[John SD]

Most of these replies may make sense to the person who is replying but not much to any one else. To really make any sense one would need to know number of cows, cow size, hay quality, weight of bales, condition of the cows-whether nursing, dry, bred or whatever. Any pasture still available, any supplementation and other factors. Hope some novice doesn't take info on here as the sole advice.

And there in lies a lot of the problem with the cattle industry. " Well hay is hay and my cows are the same size as his and it can't be that much different just a few miles north" (150 and 1,000 feet elevation or more) ect.

Bingo. That's why I mostly avoid threads like this one :roll: Since we are talking in generalities, here are a few general rules to go by IMO that I will throw out there:

1. Cattle should have daily access to open water not only for hydration but also proper rumen function and digestion.

2. Keep a good mineral formulated for your area in front of your bred cows. Salt is a mineral too.

3. Feed your crummiest hay early in gestation when it is bitter cold weather. Cattle in early gestation can eat a lot of mediocre quality hay and still meet their nutritional needs.

4. Feed your better quality hay later in gestation. A cow in later gestation can't eat as much because of the big developing calf inside her. The best way to compensate for that is better groceries, and possibly a supplement if necessary.

5. Feed your best hay during and after calving. The lactating mama cow is at her peak nutritional demand of feeding the newborn calf while recovering from pregnancy and preparing for timely rebreeding on schedule.

 

[etmountianman71]

Exactly correct. I find the same thing with people close by. Adjusting the feeding to your specific cattle is all in how well your management tactics are, quality of hay, feed. John SD made excellent points.
Take general advice and respond to your cattle's needs.

 

[Bigfoot]

I just put it out, and when just about gone, I put out some more.

 

[John SD]

I just put it out, and when just about gone, I put out some more.

:nod: And if they don't quite clean it up, they get just a smidge less tomorrow :nod:

 

[Nesikep]

I noticed the incredible vaguery in people's responses as well.. seems as a lot of people here are terribly against others knowing how many cows they have, and thus provided completely useless answers.

I left out the weather here.. usually about 20F, down to -10F or so on a cold week

 

[John SD]

I noticed the incredible vaguery in people's responses as well.. seems as a lot of people here are terribly against others knowing how many cows they have, and thus provided completely useless answers.

I left out the weather here.. usually about 20F, down to -10F or so on a cold week

I've heard it said that 35F degrees is like room temperature to a cow. A cow with a good winter hair coat, on a dry sunny day, with no wind it's "shirt sleeve weather" to a cow. Much like a human is typiclally comfortable at 70 degrees.

Wind starts to blow, rain/snow, subzero temps, these will make both a cow and a man hunker down and eat more grub to keep warm

Especially with good winter grazing available, on a nice day a cow will eat some hay, then get bored with it and head out to graze.

On a stormy day, the cow will hunker down where you feed her and eat, and eat, and eat some more.

I would not be suprised if the cow eats 2X the hay on a cold winter day as on a mild day :2cents:

 

[fitz]

I noticed the incredible vaguery in people's responses as well.. seems as a lot of people here are terribly against others knowing how many cows they have, and thus provided completely useless answers.

I left out the weather here.. usually about 20F, down to -10F or so on a cold week

I've heard it said that 35F degrees is like room temperature to a cow. A cow with a good winter hair coat, on a dry sunny day, with no wind it's "shirt sleeve weather" to a cow. Much like a human is typiclally comfortable at 70 degrees.

Wind starts to blow, rain/snow, subzero temps, these will make both a cow and a man hunker down and eat more grub to keep warm

Especially with good winter grazing available, on a nice day a cow will eat some hay, then get bored with it and head out to graze.

On a stormy day, the cow will hunker down where you feed her and eat, and eat, and eat some more.

I would not be suprised if the cow eats 2X the hay on a cold winter day as on a mild day :2cents:

It may have been dun that posted a chart sometime back on how much more energy a cow required to maintain condition below 40 degrees F including conditions of moisture and wind. It was good information.

fitz